Sunday, November 20, 2011

I know many of you are Napoleonic enthusiasts - as am I - despite my eclectic postings on just about everything else lately!

I recently obtained a couple of beautiful Front Rank French artillery limbers for a song (and a few more $!) from my mate Dean at Olympian (see also logo left side of this blog). Quite a bargain considering how good they are. They were a bit banged about and were just the limbers - no artillery pieces attached.

After a few repairs and some minor repainting and a bit of touching up, I made up two 8 pdr artillery pieces to go with them and finished them off. The following (below) is the Line Horse Artillery limber - my favourite of the two.

French Line Horse Artillery - after 1807? - the rider at the front has a new plume!

No, second thoughts the Guard (Foot) Artillery limber is my fave, no wait... Actually they are both beautifully done.

French Guard Artillery limber

Don't know how I'll use them on the table in a Black Powder game but they'll make great eye-candy anyway.

While I'm at it I'd just like to say a big thank you to my Irish mate Angry Lurker for his generous donation to the Movember cause (my previous post) - the only one so far - so I'd like to again appeal to my fellow bloggers to donate to the very good cause of men's health. The link takes you to the Movember site and my son's account on it. Any donation (click under the Mo symbol, left hand side) will generate a receipt for tax purposes. Last shameless plug - I promise!

Well, that's it for now - still sorting out computer problems with my old PC but have another battalion of FPW French line and Turkos about half done. Also got a regiment of Spahi - French colonial cavalry used in the Republican phase of the conflict - that will make a very colourful addition when I paint them up.

And another thank you to BRB for pointing out my brain-fart calling them all caissons rather than limbers - now corrected - cheers mate - what can I say - its been a long day!!

Friday, November 18, 2011

As the many visitors to this blog may or may not know, I usually refrain from naked appeals for money, and particularly on behalf of others, but on this occasion I'll throw caution to the wind.

You see my eldest is on a quest.

Its a very noble quest.

Its a quest to grow a mo.

He's part of 'Movember' and is trying mightily to grow a mo like his old man once had - see the above pic (not really)

So, think of a skinny Lebanese version of Burt Reynolds with a Zapata and you'll get the picture.

He will definitely NOT look like this showoff.

So, like Kitchener says, your country needs YOU - not to grow a 'tache like him - but to donate to those who are trying to emulate famous mos through the ages.

You see its for a very good cause - research into men's prostate cancer - which kills far, far too many of us middle aged bewhiskered chaps every year.

The figures are as bad as those are for breast cancer in women or even worse because with us it frequently goes unreported and thus undiscovered until its too late (if you're aged 40 or over and haven't done so yet, go and have your prostate examination NOW!)

Follow the link below and donate (click on the 'Donate to me' button on the left hand side) to a very worthy cause for us blokes:

It would do a young lad's confidence no end of good if he could see that his scraggly rat-like whiskery sprouting will eventually flourish into a luxuriant mustache of the sort sported by famous generals and film stars, encouraged by generous (tax deductible) donations from bloggers all over the world!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I have been a very poor blogger of late - posts few and far between - but I have not been completely idle as I've managed to complete some more French FPW (2nd Empire) figures.

This time its infantry. To finish my FPW project (if 'finish' is the appropriate term) I needed to complete the same number of French infantry units to match the Prussians - roughly three brigades of infantry, one of cavalry and two artillery batteries. For the French I only had five battalions of infantry (give or take) completed. With various swaps and deals I acquired nearly a full regiment's worth (enough for two battalions of 18 figures each) of Guard Grenadiers. This is the second lot of Grenadiers I have acquired as in a moment of madness some years ago I sold the first lot - beautiful Foundry figures they were too (there are some pics in my earliest FPW posts).

Hairy men in bearskin 'ats - Les Grognards of the 2nd Empire

Dunno who made the current lot but they're not bad figures if a trifle lacking in variety for poses - all are marching with shouldered arms - just the heads differ. Still, musn't grumble as theseGrognards have come up a treat once painted and based.

Only one thing different with the painting of this lot - as my own eyesight is failing with age, I didn't do the eyeballs on 'em! Quel Horreur! What is the world coming too? Standards are certainly slipping!

Nonetheless I'm quite happy with the command stand - even eyeball-less they still look OK. In addition to the Grenadiers of course are the Guard Voltigeurs, with another two battalions of them completing the rather small Guard Brigade. These are all Foundry figures I painted some time ago, when my eyeballs were good enough to enable me to paint eyeballs!

Some of the officer figures are Maximillian Adventure French (how they got around in the Mexican heat with that clobber on I'll never know!) - very nice Foundry range that gave a nice bit of variety to the FPW French whose uniform was almost identical.

Last but certainly not least are my sky-blue coated Turkos Algeriens - French North African colonial troops that won respect of the Germans in the war's early encounters. McMahon had a regiment of them in his 2nd Division brigaded with Zouaves and a very colourful lot they were too! For the moment I'm going to brigade them with the Guard to make up the numbers and give the brigade some enhanced skirmish capability.

I had to experiment a bit with the skin-tone for the Algerians which in real life can range from swarthy European to Negroid. A few brown washes over GW Dark Flesh got the result I was after. Followed with a weak black ink wash to pick out the details. Can't remember who made the figures but the officer is Foundry - and they all fit in nicely with the other odds 'n sods of the Guards Bde.

I have three 18-figure battalions of line to finish to complete the army - but not even half-way through them at the moment. I'll post the results when I finish the French army - then perhaps a game or two!

Between the last post and this 'Doc's Art of War' has ticked over 60,000 hits which is a bit of a blogging milestone I'm led to believe. Many thanks to all my fellow bloggers who take the time to visit my humble blog and particularly those who leave comment, its much appreciated.